The Fernhurst Society
Tales from the Archives - 36
Please Look After This Bear
One day in 1919, the staff at Haslemere station got a big surprise, literally, when a 6ft tall stuffed bear arrived on the London train.
Unfortunately its label had become detached, so after much deliberation and head-scratching, the station master decided that it must have been destined for Haslemere Educational Museum and it was duly despatched. The museum were mystified (but grateful) for their unexpected guest, a magnificent Siberian brown bear with paws outstretched and jaws open wide displaying a fearsome set of teeth.
Word eventually got round about the bear and it turned out to be the property of Mr Oswald Sissons of Woodfold, Fernhurst, who had shot it in Siberia and left it to be stuffed, and so it finally came home to Fernhurst. In the 1930s Mr Sissons donated the bear to the museum and it was subsequently named Arthur, in honour of Mr Arthur Jewell, a long-serving curator of the museum, and is now one of the most popular exhibits.
Over the years ‘Arthur’ has undergone periodic refurbishments, including plastic surgery. The claws especially need regularly replacing as they tend to get taken by souvenir hunters.
If you would like to know more about this story, or research other local topics, the Archive is open on Tuesdays, 2.30-5pm in the Village Hall. Other times by arrangement.
Christine Maynard
Fernhurst ArchiveOne of a series of short articles bringing you some of the incidents from our rich village history. Collated by Christine Maynard, based on documents preserved at the Fernhurst Archives, these originally were published in the monthly Fernhurst News.
The Fernhurst Archives
Fernhurst History
